Posted on August 22, 2018

On January 22, 2016, Ms. Klyne was seriously injured during the shooting at her workplace, the Dene High School in La Loche. In the months following the shooting, she spoke out publicly because she did not think she was receiving the support she needed, which she believed was promised by the government after the shooting.

After the matter was raised in the Legislative Assembly on May 9, 2017, the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety asked the Ombudsman to review her case and the supports she had been receiving from the agencies across the Government of Saskatchewan.

After meeting with Ms. Klyne, the Ombudsman decided to investigate whether the Workers’ Compensation Board and the Victims Services Branch of the Ministry of Justice provided her the supports and benefits that were available to her within their legislative mandates.  McFadyen also considered the Ministry of Education’s role, but found it had no role in providing services directly to Ms. Klyne. She did not look at Ms. Klyne’s employer, the Northern Lights School Division, because it is outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

McFadyen’s role under The Ombudsman Act, 2012 is to consider whether government agencies make administrative decisions fairly, reasonably and in keeping with the parameters of their legislation. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to comment on whether the Legislative Assembly should make changes to the compensation available to injured workers or victims of crime.

In this case, the Ombudsman found that the Workers’ Compensation Board and the Ministry of Justice provided Ms. Klyne with the benefits and supports they are mandated to provide under legislation.

The Ombudsman acknowledges that Ms. Klyne is not satisfied with the level of support available to her under The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013 and The Victims of Crime Act, 1995, and that she is worried about having enough money to live on in the future. McFadyen said, “Through no fault of her own, Ms. Klyne was badly injured at work in a horrific event. We looked at the government agencies within our jurisdiction and found they provided her the supports that were within their authority to provide.” Those benefits did not include compensation for pain and suffering.

McFadyen has decided not to make the report public because it did not result in recommendations and because it contains a significant amount of Ms. Klyne’s personal information. The report has been provided to Ms. Klyne and the heads of the government agencies that were investigated. Since the matter was raised in the legislature, copies have also been provided to the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, who requested the investigation, and the Leader of the Opposition.

The Ombudsman and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner operates under The Ombudsman Act, 2012 and The Public Interest Disclosure Act. She is an officer of the Legislative Assembly. Her Office promotes and protects fairness and integrity in the design and delivery of government services.

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Media Contact
Leila Dueck
Director of Communications
Phone: 306-787-7369
Email: ldueck@ombudsman.sk.ca